After the acquisition of John Lackey by the Boston Red Sox and Roy Halladay by the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets are in ‘scramble mode’ to ensure the ‘best of the rest’ of the free agent pitching market doesn’t pass them by either.
According to NYDailyNews.com, the Mets “are in serious discussions” to acquire the services of Japanese reliever Ryoto Igarashi as a possible set-up man for closer Francisco Rodriguez. WHO? Arn Tellem, Igarashi’s agent, said the Mets are close to finalizing a two-year deal with Igarashi, who is said to throw one of the hardest fastballs in Japan.
Igarashi is a 30-year-old right-hander who went 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 56 games for the Tokyo Yakuit Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball last season. In 10 seasons with the Swallows, Igarashi compiled a record of 44-27 with a ERA of 3.26 and 51 saves.
Also of note is the fact that Igarashi had Tommy John surgery in 2007; however, he has remained injury free since then and still throws in the upper 90’s.
In a related story, the Mets are said to be monitoring former New York Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang’s market value as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. A Mets insider indicated that the team will simply be monitoring Wang as they are doing with the other lower-rung free agent pitchers.
Wang, who was a 19-game winner with the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, was not offered a contract by the Bronx Bombers after having an abysmal 2009 season where he went 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA before shutting it down to have the surgery on his shoulder.
Chien-Ming Wang? Ryoto Igarashi? It might sound bleak for the Metropolitans, especially in light of the team missing out on John Lackey and Roy Halladay, but Aroldis Chapman, Ben Sheets, Jason Marquis, Joel Pineiro, and Justin Duchscherer are still out there for the taking.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya continues to reiterate that he has a plan to improve the club. The pursuit of outfielder Jason Bay is a start but, obviously, where the Mets need the most help is in the pitching department. The hope here is they hit the jackpot with one or more of the aforementioned “lower-rung free agent pitchers”. No sense in crying over spilled milk.
But Minaya did shortchange the team in last year’s free agent pitching market. Let’s see if he learned from that mistake. As the old adage goes, “those who don’t learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them”. If this is the case with Minaya, 2010 will end up as another lost season for the Mets; and Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel will be seeking employment elsewhere.
Comments
He is Taiwanese, shouldn't you look up the the player's correct nationality before you write an article on it? this is one of the worst mistakes I have ever seen.
The author did not say Chien-Ming Wang came from Japan. What he was saying is setup men Igarashi from Japan.
You did not read the article, you just read the title.
I understand the confusion, Ridiculous. Thank you for writing. I know Chien-Ming Wang is from Taiwan. What I meant in the title is that the Yankees are eyeing Wang and a Japanese reliever. I definitely didn't mean that they were eyeing a Japanese reliever named Chien-Ming Wang. I apologize for the confusion and thank you for pointing that out.
if you use wrong title, that is a really bad article to present your thought
you should learn more writing skills
Hello, Chien. Hello, English Teacher. Happy New Year! Thank you for reading and writing. Please clarify your comments. Is the issue you have with the title of the article or the content of the article? I'd love to hear more on your thoughts. I'm definitely open to constructive criticism.
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